You can check [my own Maloja page](https://maloja.krateng.ch) to see what it looks like (it's down fairly often because I use it as staging environment, that doesn't reflect the stability of the Maloja software!).
> **IMPORTANT**: With the update 2.7, the backend has been reworked to use a password. With a normal installation, you are asked to provide a password on setup. If you use docker or skip the setup for other reasons, you need to provide the environment variable `MALOJA_FORCE_PASSWORD` on first startup.
> **IMPORTANT**: With the update 2.9, the API endpoints have changed. All old endpoints should be redirected properly, but I recommend updating your clients to use the new ones.
* **Self-hosted**: You will always be able to access your data in an easily-parseable format. Your library is not synced with any public or official music database, so you can follow your own tagging schema.
* **Associated Artists**: Compare different artists' popularity in your listening habits including subunits, collaboration projects or solo performances by their members. Change these associations at any time without losing any information.
* **Multi-Artist Tracks**: Some artists often collaborate with others or are listed under "featuring" in the track title. Instead of tracking each combination of artists, each individual artist competes in your charts.
* **Custom Images**: Don't rely on the community to select the best pictures for your favorite artists. Upload your own so that your start page looks like you want it to look.
* **Proxy Scrobble**: No need to fully commit or set up every client twice - you can configure your Maloja server to forward your scrobbles to other services.
* **Standard-compliant API**: Use existing, mature apps or extensions to scrobble to your Maloja server.
* **Manual Scrobbling**: Listening to vinyl or elevator background music? Simply submit a scrobble with the web interface.
* **Keep it Simple**: Unlike Last.fm and similar alternatives, Maloja doesn't have social networking, radios, recommendations or any other gimmicks. It's a tool to keep track of your listening habits over time - and nothing more.
*`MALOJA_DATA_DIRECTORY` -- Set the directory in the container where configuration folders/files should be located
* Mount a [volume](https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/#volume) to the specified directory to access these files outside the container (and to make them persistent)
*`MALOJA_FORCE_PASSWORD` -- Set an admin password for maloja
* If you'd like to display images, you will need API keys for [Last.fm](https://www.last.fm/api/account/create) and [Spotify](https://developer.spotify.com/dashboard/applications). These are free of charge!
* Put your server behind a reverse proxy for SSL encryption. Make sure that you're proxying to the IPv6 address unless you changed your settings to use IPv4.
* If you would like to import all your previous last.fm scrobbles, use [benfoxall's website](https://benjaminbenben.com/lastfm-to-csv/) ([GitHub page](https://github.com/benfoxall/lastfm-to-csv)). Use the command `maloja import *filename*` to import the downloaded file into Maloja.
* Have a look at the [available settings](settings.md) and specifiy your choices in `/etc/maloja/settings.ini`. You can also set each of these settings as an environment variable with the prefix `MALOJA_` (e.g. `MALOJA_SKIP_SETUP`).
* If you have activated admin mode in your web interface, you can upload custom images for artists or tracks by simply dragging them onto the existing image on the artist or track page. You can also manage custom images directly in the file system - consult `images.info` in the `/var/lib/maloja/images` folder.
* To specify custom rules, consult the `rules.info` file in `/etc/maloja/rules`. You can also apply some predefined rules on the `/admin_setup` page of your server.
You can set up any amount of API keys in the file `authenticated_machines.tsv` in the `/etc/maloja/clients` folder. It is recommended to define a different API key for every scrobbler you use.
* [Albula](https://github.com/krateng/albula) Music Server
* [Maloja Scrobbler](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/maloja-scrobbler/cfnbifdmgbnaalphodcbandoopgbfeeh) Chromium Extension (also included in the repository) for Plex Web, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud or Youtube Music
If you want to implement your own method of scrobbling, it's very simple: You only need one POST request to `/apis/mlj_1/newscrobble` with the keys `artist`, `title` and `key` (and optionally `album`,`duration` (in seconds) and `time`(for cached scrobbles)) - either as form-data or json.
If you're the maintainer of a music player or server and would like to implement native Maloja scrobbling, feel free to reach out - I'll try my best to help. For Python applications, you can simply use the [`malojalib` package](https://pypi.org/project/maloja-lib/) for a consistent interface even with future updates.
You can use any third-party scrobbler that supports the audioscrobbler (GNUFM) or the ListenBrainz protocol. This is still somewhat experimental, but give it a try with these settings:
* [Simple Scrobbler](https://simple-last-fm-scrobbler.github.io) for Android
* [Airsonic Advanced](https://github.com/airsonic-advanced/airsonic-advanced) (requires you to supply the full endpoint (`yoururl.tld/apis/listenbrainz/1/submit-listens`))
